Hedgehog & Badger

David Heath argues the badger cull with Brian, however, with no scientific evidence to argue,

no ethics to argue and no economic justification to argue he randomly says "hedgehogs are declining because of badgers". It is an odd argument if true, but it simply isn't true.

I don't think he knows what badgers eat.

For those following this debate it is no surprise he can't read the facts yet again - I wonder if he should go to Specsavers?

He also doesn't know what an ecosystem is or what a badger eats, does he know they live underground? LISTEN HERE

FACT - The cull is unscientific, unethical, uneconomical and won't work and it won't save hedgehogs Mr Heath.

Foxes eat ducks, but we still have ducks. Nature thrives in a natural balance -it is us that puts species into decline.

WRITE TO YOUR MPS NOW IT'S ESSENTIAL AHEAD OF TOMORROWS DEBATE

Tell them how you feel NOW before it's too late -

if you have already written write again - NOW!

SOME FACTS FROM PTES and BHPS that Mr Heath may want to read in relation to Hedgehogs and Badgers.

PTES and BHPS position statement on the relationship between hedgehogs and badgers:

Hedgehogs are preyed upon by badgers and badgers compete with hedgehogs for food according to research at the University of Oxford and elsewhere. The two species have coexisted in Britain for several thousand years, but national badger surveys in the 1980s and 90s conducted by the University of Bristol showed then that the badger population had increased significantly in that period. Whilst it is likely that where badger numbers are high the number of hedgehogs will be low there is no evidence that badgers are the single most important factor affecting hedgehogs today. Hedgehogs rarely encounter badgers in urban areas, but they are declining just as severely in these places as they are in the wider countryside. Moreover, the rate of this decline is not related to the presence of badgers at particular urban sites. In rural areas, hedgehogs are declining severely even in parts of the country with low badger densities (e.g. East Anglia). It is clear that several interacting pressures are at work. Bolstering hedgehog populations would be better achieved by increasing and improving habitat, for example: restoring hedgerows to improve shelter and nesting opportunities; managing field margins and grasslands in ways that encourage abundant and diverse invertebrate prey.

Current discussions about whether or not to cull badgers are a proposed response to the spread of bovine TB and are not related to hedgehog numbers or conservation.

March 2013

http://ptes.org/index.php?page=485

Fay Vass, of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, said badgers were only part of the problem. 'The main reason numbers are falling is the loss of habitats and the fragmentation of their habitat, she said.'They like to roam two miles each night, but there are more walls and fences to block their way.'

Recent posts

The worst atrocity against British wildlife in history.

Perhaps some of us have got used to the idea of the badger cull ? Just politics, and perhaps something that’s necessary to solve a farming problem ? But the truth is this is the worst atrocity against British wildlife in history. It’s persecution on an almost unimaginable scale. 33,000 animals killed ? Imagine driving down a road for 18 miles. The bodies of these creatures laid end to end would stretch all the way along - 18 miles of the dead, completely innocent families of our native badgers. In terms of animal cruelty, the Badger

Team Badger Stop the Cull 2017

BBC Farming Today Tuesday 12th September 2017 Cull expert Prof. Rosie Woodroffe makes the point that DEFRA gave increased biosecurity advice in the cull zones so even if they could show a bTB decrease (which they can't) they couldn't attribute it to culling. It is revealing too that Nigel Gibbens admits they were going to go ahead whatever the analysis of the first 3 years said.Radio 4 Farming Today talks about the New English badger cull licenses this morning - from 3 minutes 15 seconds http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0930znx

Statement from Dr Brian May

We are concerned and deeply disappointed that the Government has issued 11 new Badger Cull licences to add to the 10 already existing. We have always opposed badger culling because of the cruelty and inhumaneness of free shooting badgers in open fields at night, as confirmed by the government's own Independent Expert Panel.

Message from Dr Brian May

Message from Dr. Brian May For the badgers - and actually for us as a nation - this cull is a tragedy and a disaster.What’s less understood is that it’s a tragedy for the farmers and the cattle too. The drive behind continuing with a policy which is failing seems to be that ‘we have to be seen to do something, rather than nothing

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Queen guitarist Brian May is set to auction 11 Badger brand guitars this coming weekend in aid of badger charities. The celebrated guitarist and astrophysicist has campaigned for years against the UK’s controversial badger culling policy that was designed to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

Brian May and Save-Me’s response to news of an extended government-led badger cull

We at Save Me are disappointed and profoundly saddened at the news that Theresa May’s government is to escalate its culling of badgers. In 2014 the governments own Independent Expert Panel (IEP) determined that the cull was cruel and ineffective; the panel was promptly sacked for reporting these findings.

No date set for possible badger cull in Cheshire, says government official

Rumours that a badger cull could start in Cheshire next month have been denied by government officials. A spoke person for the Department of the Environment said it was still in the process of determining where any culls might take place, and as yet, no firm date had been set. Robyn Blythe from Cheshire Against the Badger Cull had contacted the Guardian claiming around 1,000 badgers could be killed in a cull that was expected to start in September.

Badger culling may return to Devon this summer

The cull in Devon started at this time last year, will it return? The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), was issued two badger control licenses for areas in Devon in 2016 which are valid until 2019. Last year culling began in Devon and Somerset at the end of August and a Devon animal lover expects the cull to return this year. Before a cull can begin an authorisation letter must be published by the Government, so far no such letter has been published.

'Glorious 12th' protests in London as Chris Packham says bloodsports are as outdated as slavery

Campaigners protesting against the killing of animals for sport took to the streets of London on the first day of the grouse shooting season. Demonstrators marched through central London to Downing Street, calling for an end to badger culling and driven grouse shooting and urging the Government to keep the ban on fox hunting with hounds. Ahead of the protest Springwatch presenter Chris Packham, who joined crowds of people in the capital, condemned such activities as a "dying business", likening the activity to slavery or homophobia.

#CrushCruelty London March 12th August 2017

The 12th August, a day previously associated with the start of the grouse shooting season took on new meaning this year as thousands of campaigners took to the streets of London for the #CrushCruelty march.The Demonstrators, led by writer and broadcaster, Chris Packham, marched through central London to Downing Street, calling for an end to badger culling and driven grouse shooting and urging the Government to keep the ban on fox hunting with hounds.

Farmers face restrictions as badgers found to carry bovine TB in Cumbria

EXPERTS have warned against calls for a badger cull to combat bovine TB outbreaks in Cumbria at this stage, saying it would be 'ridiculous' and a 'knee jerk reaction'. The possibility of a cull comes following the discovery of badgers carrying bovine TB in the Shap and Penrith areas. This is the first time in 30 years that the disease has been detected in badgers in the county. The government's Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has been investigating outbreaks among cattle on 16 farms in the affected areas.